GAA: NHL CORK v DUBLINCORK ARE in the unusual position on the final day of the hurling league of having nothing tangible to play for. A place in the final drifted out of sight following their surprising defeat to Wexford, but they have performed with sufficient quality to leave them well out of relegation trouble. On an afternoon when all around them are either going up or down, Cork will stay safe.
Still, the visit of a Dublin team buoyed by a terrific league campaign and seeking a first league title since Christy Ring was in his first flush of youth means that the Rebels are looking forward to their game. The business end of their hurling is coming down the tracks: they open their Munster championship against Tipperary on May 29th. Dublin, then, will provide Cork with their last meaningful opposition before that perennial Munster classic.
“It is great to see Dublin making the strides they have done, says Pat Buckley, selector on Denis Walsh’s managerial team. “There is a lot of work going in there. The top half of the division has been very competitive and with Dublin showing that form, every game is very tight. We lost three games by a point. They have been putting up big scores and this is a big game for them. To get to a league final would be a great achievement.
“I think people welcome it because the work that has gone in there is starting to be rewarded. It is a very important game for us. This is our last big competitive game before we play Tipp in six weeks’ time and we are under no illusions: the way Dublin are playing, it is going to be a big game for both sides. Guys are going to have to perform to get a result on Sunday. We want to finish on a high. Dublin want to be in a league final. It has the makings of a good game.”
The perpetual problem of raising the profile and intensity of the league has been helped by the unpredictable nature of the hurling season so far. The mid-spring indications that Kilkenny and Galway would contest the final have been erased and the GAA couldn’t have wished for a more entertaining concluding Sunday, with five of the top tier teams gunning for a place.
It will be one of those Sundays where the radio reports from elsewhere will command much interest in the stands.
Cork’s league has been so-so. Three one-point defeats, two wins and a draw against Tipperary in an engrossing game which might just have seen them steal it. The most surprising result was the most recent: a narrow loss against Wexford. Even though they lined out without John Gardiner and Eoin Cadogan in defence, it was a strong Cork team.
“People ignored that, apart from the heavy defeat they received from Galway, Wexford haven’t been far away,” Buckley says.
“Kilkenny by five points, Waterford by a couple of points – they have been competitive. We were disappointed with the defeat because we were eight points ahead in the first half and we didn’t push on. We had a few injuries and that forced our hand in terms of selection. But I wouldn’t say it was a setback. We had young players out there who found out that if you are not in the right frame of mind at this level, you will get turned over. It was a valuable lesson in that regard.”
But Buckley does feel that qualifying for the league final would have suited Cork’s championship preparations, discounting the argument that they might be as well off concluding their league programme and concentrating on the Tipperary match.
“People will argue that. I think the best preparation is to have the games because you don’t know how good you are going until you have them. We were aiming for the league final at the outset. When we drew with Tipp (in the league) in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, we were depending on other results. So we would have looked forward to a league final. I know it is close to the championship but you can’t beat those high-level games. May feels like championship season and that is when you want to be playing your best hurling.”
So after tomorrow, Cork will go into hibernation for a month. They have been difficult to read over the league: rotating players, using Tom Kenny as a wing forward, using Michael Cussen on the edge of the square and out in midfield, failing to score against Kilkenny for a full 37 minutes and still only losing by a single point, operating in cruise control against Galway in Páirc Uí Chaoimh and coaxing encouraging league displays out of younger players like James Nagle and Stephen McDonnell.
“The way the modern game of hurling has gone – with the movement particularly in the forwards and midfield, players have to be able to adjust to different positions and be taken out of the old. Forwards interchange now without even instructions from the line. So guys need to be able to fit into different positions depending on how a game is going.” Buckley explains.
“That is one of the things we were trying to do. There are always places up for grabs and performance is what dictates that. Players are aware that they need to take a chance.” This is their last 70 minutes of competitive hurling until the match that will make or break their season. Dublin hopes that Cork thoughts will be elsewhere are pointless.
“Anthony Daly and the Dublin management have put in great work and they have a really strong squad and, most impressively, they have been finishing strongly in games. I know they said they want to improve on their accuracy but they are creating lots of chances. They are on a real roll and we know what to expect.”
